Coming to Manchester for the first time as an international student, I didn’t know what to expect. Aside from the photos you can look at online of the city of Manchester and the university, if you are coming from abroad, you have this nervousness about how your first semester in Manchester is going to go.  

Valeria and friends at Old Trafford

My first week was very exciting as I joined some activities organized by the university to meet other students from my faculty and program. My favourite one was doing a treasure hunt around the city where we had to solve challenges, take some photos, and answer trivia questions to get points for our team. After the hunt, we did some pub hopping around Oxford Road to get to know more of the international students joining this term. In week two, we had already started classes at AMBS, where I am currently doing my MSc in Innovation Management & Entrepreneurship. I was lucky enough to also get elected as Student Representative, to work closely with the university to enhance the experience of my classmates within the program. It’s a good opportunity for you to join if interested, as you can gather feedback from your classmates and propose new ideas for the program.   

So far, my experience within the program has been amazing! I have classmates and teachers from different parts of the world with whom I can have interesting exchanges of ideas and insights in our projects, as we learn different perspectives from each other. We are currently working on some interesting projects about developing business ideas which we will present in a couple of weeks. In every module we are learning different tools, techniques, and skills necessary for us to address the challenges of innovation and technological change from the perspective of entrepreneurs, business, and governments.   

Aside from studying, we have had some time to discover and enjoy both Greater Manchester and cities nearby on the weekends. The most popular destinations among students here are the Lake District, Liverpool, North Wales, and Yorkshire.   

We have also had the opportunity to attend a classic Manchester United game at the historic Old Trafford Stadium, and even if you are not a big football fan, you should still pay a visit as you will enjoy the atmosphere of being at the stadium on match day.   

Pumpkin carving

One of my favourite activities we have done with some classmates has been going pumpkin carving for Halloween, where we had a blast trying to make the spookiest pumpkins possible, while trying hard not to make a mess while carving the inside of the pumpkins. Another activity we have recently done as a bonding session within my class, has been going to Junkyard Golf. This is what they call crazy golf as they have designed unique 9-hole courses to make it as much fun as possible, so this is always a good idea if you are looking for a fun activity to do for a team outing!  

This first semester has been a blast, and I can’t wait for the second one!

Written by Valeria, a current MSc Innovation Management and Entrepreneurship student at AMBS

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